# What's the best/quickest way to defrost a freezer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 7, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125 "2003-09-07T17:50:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Koth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@Koth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/1 "2003-09-07T17:50:28Z")
I’m looking for something that will go fairly quickly, because I don’t really have anything else to do with my food other than put it in a cooler with ice. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/2 "2003-09-07T18:09:17Z")
Open the door and blow a hair dryer into the freezer compartment. That should do it in a short time. ---
**Author:** ![Koth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@Koth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/3 "2003-09-07T18:16:34Z")
One problem with that… I don’t have a hair dryer. ---
**Author:** ![Koth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@Koth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/4 "2003-09-07T18:21:05Z")
I’m also doing the boiling pot of water in the freezer trick, but I’m just wondering if there’s anything faster. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/5 "2003-09-07T18:31:52Z")
Don’t use a hair dryer. Not as effective. My patented way (if I had bothered to apply for a patent), involve a two pronged approach. 1. But a big pot of boiling water (be careful that you don’t burn yourself). Just let it sit there for about 15 minutes. The area immediately above and below the pot will be fine. Even better is filling up something like a lasagna pan because it has more surface area. 2. Get a spray bottle. Fill it up with tap water (temp doesn’t matter). Find what looks to be the thinnest part of the ice and spray that area. You want to be able to make a crack in the ice. 3. Take a plastic spatula (NOT METAL) and start going at the ice where there’s a crack. Once you pry one section out, the others will come out more easily. I can usually defrost my freezer in about 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Koth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@Koth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/6 "2003-09-07T18:50:45Z")
What about just using hot water to melt the ice? Like, putting it in a water bottle, and then spraying it on the ice? ---
**Author:** ![TheFunkySpaceCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@TheFunkySpaceCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFunkySpaceCowboy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/7 "2003-09-07T20:46:21Z")
Napalm ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/8 "2003-09-07T21:11:09Z")
I put in a candle once, but I think the hot water pans are faster. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-best-quickest-way-to-defrost-a-freezer/200125/9 "2003-09-07T21:53:54Z")
I use one of those big square window fans to blow lots of air into the freezer. It thaws the ice very quickly, and I remove the ice as soon as it’s loose. Mop up any excess water with a towel and it’s usually bone dry in an hour.